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"Still, Anos, you really know how to make money. You even have a maid, and the food here is so luxurious. Ugh."
At the dining table, Irina did her best to restrain the urge to eat her fill, trying not to embarrass herself in front of Anos.
She had known even back then that Anos seemed to have a good sense for managing money, but she had never expected him to end up living in a small villa while she was off training with the Church.
"Excuse me... Mr. Anos Kanzaki..."
Xenovia seemed a little restrained.
Because just now, she had seen something that greatly concerned her.
However, that object had not released any sacred fluctuations, so she could not make a judgment for the moment.
"You can just call me Anos."
Anos smiled.
He knew what Xenovia was talking about.
She had probably seen the holy swords he had casually sealed in the living room.
Just like how he used to go out and clean up stray devils, he now had a habit of going out to clear away garbage whenever he had free time.
He did indeed have holy swords.
Only a few days ago, after going out with Rias to relax, he had happened to deal with a stray priest and took the holy swords from him.
Since the holy sword Excalibur was something prepared by the previous Biblical God, then as someone who possessed the divine nature of the Biblical God, there should be nothing wrong with him inheriting those things, right?
"Anos, that thing hanging in your living room... is it a toy?"
After taking a few seconds to digest the way she addressed him, Xenovia finally asked the question that had been bothering her.
"Mm... You could say it is a toy, and also not a toy. After all, it still has a certain amount of practical combat value. Of course, at this stage, its value as a collectible is probably greater than its value in actual combat."
Anos thought for a moment before answering.
To him, that was indeed the case.
A single holy sword fragment was only about as strong as one of his simulated holy swords. What use was there in taking it out?
It was basically just a decoration and a collector's item.
"If it has combat value, then is it a replica of a holy sword?"
Xenovia immediately stood up.
She had not expected to see a replica of a holy sword here.
But since this man seemed to have been Irina's childhood friend, perhaps it was normal for him to know about holy swords. Or perhaps this was some ancestral collection of his.
Xenovia's foolish mind instantly came up with all kinds of possibilities.
"Uh... no... It is genuine."
Anos raised a brow.
What kind of strange thought process did Xenovia have?
Bang!
"Genuine?"
Xenovia could no longer sit still. She rushed straight into the living room.
Was it genuine?
A real holy sword?
There were genuine holy swords in the home of Irina's childhood friend?
Was he trying to trick her?
She might be a little foolish, but she was not that easy to fool.
She possessed the factor needed to wield holy swords, so she could sense the existence of holy swords.
But when she approached the two holy swords in the living room, there had clearly been no reaction at all.
"They are genuine... I simply sealed them."
Anos wiped his mouth and also walked into the living room.
"You sealed them? How did you get holy swords?"
As Xenovia spoke, she reached toward the holy swords.
Sure enough, once she got within a certain distance of the holy swords, she could no longer move any closer.
It seemed that, at the very least, there was indeed a physical seal.
"A few days ago, when I went out, I ran into a stray priest, He tried to attack me, so I dealt with him along the way. My luck was not bad. He happened to have two holy swords on him."
Anos spread his hands.
Although he had indeed intended to clean up Kuoh Town a little, that time, the other party really had attacked first.
"What? Anos, you casually dealt with a stray priest who had two holy swords?"
At that moment, Irina, who had just swallowed the food in her mouth, finally arrived in the living room. The moment she arrived, she heard this explosive news.
"Yes. It was very simple. After all, Irina, if you can become a holy sword wielder, why can I not be attacked on the road and come back with two holy swords?"
Anos asked in return.
"Well... that..."
Irina had not expected Anos to see through her identity from the beginning.
As expected, was the clerical outfit she wore far too conspicuous?
No, that was not right.
A member of the clergy was not necessarily a holy sword wielder.
"Anos, how did you know?"
Irina awkwardly touched her ponytail.
It seemed that, from the moment they met, Anos had not hidden anything from them. When they asked what was displayed in the living room, he had directly said that those things were holy swords.
"I have a certain degree of foresight, so I know about your current identity as a holy sword wielder."
"Besides, you two did not hide yourselves very well. I could see the spell concealing your holy swords. Irina, the ribbon on your hand is the Mimic Holy Sword, right?"
Anos sighed.
Irina really was still the same as when they were children.
"I see... In that case, can we speak in detail? This is a very important request."
Xenovia spoke very seriously.
...
After a while, under Tiamat's incredibly bored witness as she served tea and water from the side, Xenovia finally explained the cause and circumstances clearly.
"So, you need to collect the holy swords, correct? Counting the two here with me and the two with you, there should be one more holy sword left."
Anos nodded.
The strongest, the Ruler Holy Sword, and the Blessing Holy Sword held by Heaven were not included. There were seven in total. With four already in their hands, only one had truly been lost.
"Yes, that is correct."
Xenovia was surprised for a moment before speaking.
She had not expected Anos to know the locations of the holy swords and the number they needed. It seemed his claim that he had some degree of foresight was true.
"Therefore, I would like to ask for your help, Mr. Kanzaki... no, Anos. Please help us recover the stolen holy sword."
Xenovia made a sincere request.
"Wait, Xenovia, why are you dragging Anos into this?"
Irina said uneasily.
"So that we can return alive."
Xenovia answered very simply.
"The difficulty of completing our mission should not be too great, right? We already have more than a seventy percent chance of destroying that holy sword."
That was Irina's reasoning.
But after saying that, she could not help glancing at Anos again.
She knew that they had been sent here as expendable pieces to handle the holy sword incident. She had also long since prepared herself for martyrdom.
But...
After seeing the grown-up Anos, she really had wavered a little. She even felt a bit regretful that she had chosen to become a holy sword wielder back then.
"Irina, you need to understand. Having the will to sacrifice yourself for the Lord is admirable, but only by staying alive can you do more meaningful things and continue spreading the Lord's glory."
Xenovia's view was different from Irina's.
"That... that does seem true."
Irina first stole a glance at Anos, then lowered her head with a slightly guilty expression.
As expected, she still wanted to spend more time with Anos.
She did not know whether that counted as betraying her faith.
Theoretically, should she not offer everything to the Lord?
Of course, she did not know that offering herself to Anos was also offering everything to the Lord. In fact, compared to the already-departed Biblical God, it was far more reliable.
"I thought you were going to say something serious, Even if you had not asked, I would have handled this matter anyway. After all, I do not like too many crawling insects appearing around my home."
Anos narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance.
Compared to the storm that was about to arrive, what did these things even amount to?
"So that means Anos is willing to help us recover the holy sword?"
Irina was deeply moved and leaned against Anos, hugging him tightly.
As expected, Anos still liked her so much.
He was willing to do this kind of thing for her.
Yes.
In Irina's eyes, everything Anos did was for her, and it was all proof that he liked her.
"It is only a holy sword, A very simple matter."
Anos smiled.
Could he say that his goal had never been just the holy sword?
He also wanted to crush Kokabiel ahead of time.
However, according to his judgment, the current Kokabiel was still inside the Grigori organization.
Running into someone else's headquarters to crush a ten-winged fallen angel was far too conspicuous. For now, Anos did not intend to do something so flashy.
"Thank you for your help, Anos."
Xenovia also gave him a very sincere thanks.
"If there is anything you need from me in the future, please contact me at any time."
She gave him her promise.
Although to Anos, it was honestly not a promise of great value, to Xenovia, it was already the highest level of promise she could offer.
"All right. I will see whether I need it someday."
Anos felt that perhaps he would never use this promise in his lifetime.
"By the way, Irina, there should still be one thing we have not done."
Xenovia reminded her.
"What thing?"
Irina tilted her head.
She only felt that Anos's arms were very comfortable and did not want to leave for the moment.
Also, Xenovia, could you not read the atmosphere a little?
Would it kill you to let me hug him a bit longer?
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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